This application is a co-pending application of Ser. No. 09/944,864, filed on Aug. 31, 2001; Ser. No. 09/944,875, filed on Aug. 31, 2001; and Ser. No. 09/945,291, filed on Aug. 31, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,471,510, issued Oct. 29, 2002.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to heating devices for heat-shrinkable packing material, and particularly to devices utilizing blowing of hot air over such packing material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many products including optical communication components are very sensitive to environmental contamination, such as from dust or water. It is important to provide secure protection for such products during their transportation.
The usual way to protect products such as optoelectronic components is to pack them in plastic film. The plastic film is generally heat-shrinkable, and is first applied to loosely envelop the optoelectronic component. Then, hot air is blown on the film. Once heated, the film shrinks to tightly pack the component. Conventional devices for heating the plastic film cannot blow hot air onto the plastic film uniformly. As a result blisters may be formed in the film, thus diminishing the aesthetic appearance of the product. Even worse, the film may break and expose the component to contamination.
In view of the above, there is a need for a tool which can blow hot air evenly onto the heat-shrinkable plastic film, to ensure that products such as optoelectronic components are properly protected and have an attractive appearance.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an air blowing tool which can blow heated air evenly onto heat-shrinkable material used for packing products such as optoelectronic components.
To achieve the above object, an air blowing tool of the present invention comprises a connecting pipe and an air blowing head. The connecting pipe has a first wide passage and a second narrow passage defined therein. The air blowing head includes an inner wall and an outer wall. An annular passage is defined between the inner and outer walls. The inner wall encloses and defines a heating space for accommodating a package to be heated. A plurality of evenly distributed outlets is defined in the inner wall. Each outlet is defined at an acute angle relative to the annular passage.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompany drawings, in which: